Almost a year after experiencing the bitterest of defeats, the Purple Raiders beat defending champion Marietta 73-72 Wednesday to solidify their place atop the Ohio Athletic Conference.

T.J. Gillespie hit the winning free throw with eight-tenths of a second left as the Raiders (11-2, 6-0) won their ninth straight game. He finished with a game-high 21 points.

It was a victory 11 months in the making.

The matchup was the first between the two teams since last year's OAC tournament championship game in Marietta. The Pioneers rallied from a 20-point second half deficit to beat the Raiders 80-76 in overtime.

The Pioneers threatened to recreate the nightmare in the final 11 minutes when they wiped out a 12-point deficit. Gillespie's winning free throw and Cody Dillon's clutch 3-pointer earlier helped Mount Union stem the tide in front of a crowd of 2,354, one of the largest for a Raiders men's basketball game.

"Losing the championship like that and them storming the court on us, there's no other feeling like that," Gillespie said. "... This was a big game. We had our whole crowd behind us, so we knew that we had to get this game."

Head coach Mike Fuline said the way the Raiders lost last year's title game hurt most. It ultimately became a valuable lesson for a team that returned 90 percent of its players.

The Raiders now are enjoying one of their longest winning streaks in years.

"If you ever get lazy in the weight room, conditioning wise, we have guys who would just say, 'Marietta,' or the score, and it gets them refocused," Fuline said. "I want to learn when we win. I hate to learn after a loss like that. To be honest with you, it was big for us.

"In sports you can go in two different directions. We just have a group of people who collectively as a family just kind of drew together."

Dillon's 3-pointer with 51 seconds left gave Mount Union a 70-67 lead. After the Pioneers cut it to one, he hit two free throws with 20 seconds left to put the Raiders on top 72-69.

Marietta's Garrett Stephenson buried a 3 with 13 seconds left to tie the game at 72-72. There was still time left for Gillespie and the Raiders.

Gillespie drove the lane and drew a foul from Marietta's Andy Stegman with less than a second left. He hit the first free throw and purposely missed the second to help run out the clock.

The free throws were Gillespie's first of the night.

"I wanted the ball in my hands," he said. "Coach told me to make a play, so that's what I did. Luckily, I got fouled and was fortunate enough to make the free throw."

Page 2 of 2 - Gillespie hit four 3-pointers, including a pair which helped Mount Union rally from a 10-point first half deficit. His 21 points were one off a career high.